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I am sorry if there already was a topic about this. Anyhow, I am a sophomore in high school and have problems fully inverting. My coach tells me that I need more ab and core strength to completely invert because my legs compared to the pole are in V shape (the pole being one side the V and my legs being the other). I was wondering if any of you more seasoned vaulters could give me your ab/weight room workout. I have read several posts about installing high bars and practicing swing/inversion or going to a gym and doing high bar, etc. Although I live near a University, I would like to do something just in the limits of lifting weights and running hills... you get the idea. Am I asking for too much or should I seriously consider going on high bars or something of the sort.

---Also, a quick question. Right now I am doing cross country and I know you people talk about how its is bad for your stride, but are there any other down falls?

All the inversion is is a continuation of the swing. The swing needs to be stronger. The take-off must be aggressive, then immediately you must swing HARD! This is best practiced on a high bar. Rings are next best, then rope, then a hanging stubby. But if you can get to a high bar, do it. Yeah, sit ups and leg lifts and all that stuff is good, but the high bar makes you stronger while you learn to swing better. If you REALLY want an ab workout you can do at your house, pm me and I'll make one for you. But keep this in mind: YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE RIPPED IN ORDER TO INVERT PROPERLY, you just need to use what you've got as well as you can. The high bar is the best way to train this. Strengthening your core (chest, shoulders, abs, glutes, back) will make things easier though...

And there must be literally a few hundred topics on inversion throughout this board, just go hunting (ie. the search bar).

Cross country can ruin your stride if you do it as a serious distance runner, and that's a month you'll have to spend in the winter in the gym building type 1 fibers up again, and an additional month of learning how to sprint again.

Powerplant42 wrote:YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE RIPPED IN ORDER TO INVERT PROPERLY, you just need to use what you've got as well as you can.

Oh yes, you do!

If you want to jump 16' instead of 14' (e.g. to be a good high-school male vaulter), you need the fastest trail leg you can possibly muster. You get that by very, very, very strong abs - that make your trail leg swing long and fast!

And if you want to jump 14' instead of 12', the same statement applies.

The reason that I stress this point is that it isn't "natural" for your body to have strong abs. Not many other sports need it (except gymnastics). XC won't give you that. You have to focus on developing your abs specifically for swinging to the invert.

Powerplant42 wrote:The high bar is the best way to train this. Strengthening your core (chest, shoulders, abs, glutes, back) will make things easier though...

This part is VERY TRUE. I would include rings as equally good.

BTW, what's a "hanging stubby"? Is that the bungee that you hang from the football goal posts? I never tried that, but it looks like fun. Anything that's fun to do and takes gut muscles to accomplish is beneficial. That way, you don't mind the repitition and sweat as much, so you can train longer without getting bored.

Kirk

Eh, I don't really like hanging stubbies, but if you can make one easily, I think it's a good idea. Just get a chain, a stubby, drill through the top of the stubby, loop the chain through, and hang it. It's just like a rigid rope. It's kind of tough, and I would have to say not as useful as the high bar, rings, or rope.

So again, what's a "hanging stubby"? What does it look like? What's it made of? Where can you buy it?

Kirk

It's quite literally a hanging stubby, a stubby, that hangs. Just hang a short piece of pole from a chain or rope or whatever, you can't really buy them anywhere that I know of... it would be a lot cheaper just to make one from a broken pole or whatever. I guess it would kind of look like: (this is horizontal) <><><><><><>=<>=============

Really simple.

What do you guys think of this as an ab workout; I think it applies best to the vault. So you start out like you are benching, torso and head on the bench, but your hips are not on the bench. A weight is put between your feet and you pull your feet over you.

O------o
========== \.

Then...

\
O-----o
=========

Sorry for the vague pictures...but does this sound like a good one to do?

I don't see why not. You can get that extra motion range with your hips hanging over the bench, and I'm sure there's some wierd kinesiological response your body has that helps with moving the legs during the vault (as opposed to using hanging your torso over the bench and lifting your body up, you know what I mean?).

There should be some sort of 'draw' option on here so that we're not limited to o/-=<>'s, don't you think?